Following-Day Fallout From The Webb Shocker

Late last night, news broke that Jim Webb, running against George Allen, had written some pretty risque fiction back in the day. Now I commend my better half for picking up the story. It is, after all, news. But I noticed this morning that someone in the blogosphere is issuing a "shame on you" sort of condemnation to those who are making hay about this. That person is Michelle Malkin.

We like Michelle. That much is evident. We link to her quite often. However, she writes the following today:

Remember how pathetic it was when the Left tried to make scandals out of books written by Lynne Cheney and Scooter Libby?

Cheney wrote a pulpy novel, "Sisters," about a frontier woman that included graphic sexual passages and lesbian lovers. (A conservative-bashing site reprinted excerpts here.)

Libby wrote a pulpy novel, "The Apprentice," a "story of innocence and temptation" set in turn-of-the-century Japan that included graphic sexual passages--including bestiality and a scene in which the brothers of a dead samurai have sex with his daughter.

Both were works of fiction. You know, stuff that's made up.

Now, the George Allen campaign has detonated its October surprise using the same tactics as Cheney's and Libby's critics--attacking the fiction of his Democrat opponent, James Webb via an official "press release" sent to the Drudge Report last night. Are the passages in Webb's "Lost Soldiers" bizarre and perverted? Yes. But they are no more proof of Webb's immorality and unfitness for office than the passages in "Sisters" are proof that Lynne Cheney hates men or that the passages in "The Apprentice" are proof that Scooter Libby endorses sex between children and bears.

OK, we get her point. This is another form of "gotcha" politics, and she can deem the Allen campaign's actions of releasing this information improper if she wishes. But I would like to add that neither Scooter Libby, nor Lynne Cheney, were running for public office when they wrote their books. They also have not been elected to a public office. Jim Webb is. And his sordid stories speak volumes to voters who just two weeks ago were bombarded by the attacks and condemnation of Mark Foley.

This is the point my tired wife was trying to make last night. The hypocrisy of the MSM, and the Left in general, is going to speak volumes to the voters. Jim Webb wrote about pedophilia, incest, and allusions to homosexual rape. And he is running for office. The Democrats assailed Mark Foley and the GOP, proclaiming they had the "moral compass" of the nation, and yet here is Jim Webb and his sex stories and fantasies.

Do we think that this is an October Surprise that will cost Jim Webb the race? Probably. Virginians aren't exactly "prudes" (to use my wife's word from last night) but I am sure a fair majority are repulsed by this sort of stuff. Jim Webb was already behind in the polls, but only by a couple of points. there is a distinct possibility that voters may not even take notice of this story. Both the Daily Press and the Times Dispatch don't even mention the story today. The press is doing it's usual job of sweepig this under the carpet.

Now to be fair, I'll include her closing sentiments about this issue:

I don't think, however, that the Allen campaign--couldn't they leave this to surrogates?--should be trafficking in this late October muck. It is beneath them and there's plenty else about Webb that is damning.

Like Webb's lying about leading the "fight" to include an African-American soldier in the Vietnam War soldier's memorial.

Or his non-fiction writing about women in the military.

And what happened to focusing on Webb's stance on taxes, as fiscal conservatives in Virginia have been urging?

Political strategists in the Beltway are exulting that "Webb is toast" as a result of this Drudge/Allen bomb. But if this what Republican Senate candidates need to do to win elections, I don't think any of us should be cheering.

That much we do agree with. There should have been no reason for Senator Allen to have released this. Surrogates could have done this. But what happens when surrogates don't get the attention? Then you have to take alternative steps. And we do agree that Webb should be hung based on his record rather than his personal efforts at fiction. Senator Allen has been hammering those points home--Webb's constant lies and misrepresentations--but this is icing on the cake. It's also "gotcha" politics, which is the most deplorable part of elections now.

We have been reduced to moving in this direction because of how devestating the results are in such a forum. To this day Marcie and I still debate people who bring up the phony TANG memos peddled by CBS, and the never-proven allegation that the president was arrested for cocaine use, and his family covered it up.

(It should be noted that the allegation came from Jim Hatfield, authoer of "Fortunate Son," a two-time convicted felon. He claimed to have the "goods" on then-Governor Bush, yet could not provide a date for the arrest or conviction, could not produce an arresting officer or judge, and could not give a description of his sources. In addition to that, Hatfield contradicted himself when he stated he spoke with one source directly when in his book and in previous interviews he hsaid he spoke with them only over a telephone. So Hatfield, to this day, still can't prove his allegations, and yet the Left loves to bring it up as if it were Gospel truth.)

But the fact remains is Jim Webb got caught in this (and it should make people wonder how long those on his camapign staff knew about his writings, if they knew at all). He is running for a seat in the Senate. The Left's attempts to bury Libby and Lynne Cheney were misplaced because they weren't running for a public office. And while we dislike "gotcha" politics, this is probably going to finish off Jim Webb.

And just a note from both of us: We could honestly care less if Jim Webb had written children's books or adult books. It is his record that should be examined, not his foray into fiction. However, the voters of Virginia aren't likely to let this slip by even if the media is willing to ignore it. The voters will stay informed, and the damage to Webb is already done. With twelve days (including today) left in this election, we don't see him recovering enough to eke out a win.

Finally, Michelle is well within her right and place to condemn such tactics. But we simply took issue with comparing the works of Jim Webb to Lynne Cheney and Scooter Libby. It would have been different if President Bush, or Rick Santorum, or John Kyl, etc., had written things like this. They are have run for public office, or are currently running. But people who are connected through others (via marriage or appointment) don't matter in the grand scheme of things. And Jim Webb won't lose because of this. He will lose because the voters of Virginia recognize that he isn't right for them based on his record and statements.

Publius II